How To Fight An Epidemic

To date there have been 35 cases of the Zika virus in the United States. Thirty-three were acquired outside of the country and two were transmitted inside the country through sexual contact. No one has died; there have been no birth defects. The Obama administration has proposed that the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta and other federal agencies spend $1.8 billion to study the epidemiology and prevention of Zika.

Last year, more than 100,000 Americans were shot. More than 30,000 died. By law, the federal government, including the CDC, cannot spend a single dollar studying the epidemiology for prevention of gunshot wounds.

What is wrong with this picture? Certainly not our efforts to stop Zika.